Audition notice A Man of No Importance Book by Terrence McNally Music by Stephen Flaherty Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens Based on the movie A Man of No Importance First produced by Lincoln Center Theatre This amateur production is presented by arrangement with JOSEF WEINBERGER LTD on behalf of MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL of NEW YORK 23 rd -27 th July, Bridewell Theatre Director: Matt Gould Musical Director: Inga Davis-Rutter Producer: Pippa Roome Workshop (optional): Auditions: Recalls: Wednesday 13 th March, 7pm Easter Monday, 1 st April (throughout the day) Saturday 6 th and Sunday 7 th April To book an audition please e-mail: amoniauditions@gmail.com
A Man of No Importance What we had was something. What we had was rare. Poetry and art in the air. And friends It is Dublin 1964: bus conductor Alfie Byrne has ambitions to stage Salome, by his hero Oscar Wilde, despite the objections of the church hierachy at St Imelda s where his amateur theatre group is based. When a newcomer to town, the young and beautiful Adele Rice, joins the passengers on his bus, he knows that he has finally found his leading lady. Alfie announces that the show is going up and pulls together his colourful cast drawn from the local community and the bus passengers. Meanwhile Alfie s sister Lily mistakes her brother s interest in Adele as romantic she longs to have him off her hands so she can be free to marry Mr Carney, the local butcher, who is also a leading light of the St Imelda s Players. Little does Lily realise that Alfie s love dare not speak its name and the object of his affections is in fact bus driver Robbie (fondly referred to as Bosie by Alfie). Struggling to create a work of art, Alfie fails to appreciate the controversy his production will ignite. As opening night draws near, secrets come spilling out which threaten to shake this little community to its core. But camaraderie and the redeeming power of theatre offer a thread of hope in this story of friendship, forbidden love and finding our place in the world. We learn that theatre is not just a place in which to hide, but somewhere to discover that it really is a wonderful thing to love who you love. Production history A Man of No Importance is based on the film of the same name starring Albert Finney as Alfie Byrne, Rufus Sewell as Robbie, Tara Fitzgerald as Adele and Brenda Fricker as Lily. The musical opened in September 2002 in New York, starring Roger Rees as Alfie Byrne and Faith Prince as Lily, and won the 2003 Outer Critics Circle Award for best off-broadway musical. The show premiered in London at the Union Theatre, Southwark, in 2009. Flaherty, Ahrens and McNally previously collaborated on the multi-award winning Ragtime. Other Flaherty and Ahrens shows include Lucky Stiff, Seussical and My Favorite Year (performed by Sedos in 2008). Terrence McNally s other credits include the book for Kiss Of The Spider Woman: the Musical (performed by Sedos in 2010) and the plays Love! Valour! And Compassion! and Masterclass. Further information Further details and a full synopsis can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/a_man_of_no_importance_(musical). There is also a detailed synopsis at The Guide to Musical Theatre http://guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_m/manimport.htm The Josef Weinberger site contains extracts from the songs http://www.josef-weinberger.com/musicals/musical/man-of-no-importance-a.html We have also set up a password-protected website containing script, song and lib extracts. Details of the site and the password can be obtained by e-mailing Pippa at amoniauditions@gmail.com.
Music / Choreography The music is a fusion of modern musical theatre style but given its subject matter, is Irish influenced. There are a number of great ensemble numbers such as Going Up when the St Imelda s Players assemble for their first rehearsal and Art halfway through rehearsals. Robbie s song The Streets of Dublin has become an audition standard. Great moments for everyone! There are a couple of major ensemble numbers (mentioned above) but the show is not heavily dancey but strong movement ability is required. There is an energetic Irish Jig! The team Director: Matt has directed three plays for Sedos: Hapgood, Arcadia and last year s epic production of Alan Ayckbourn s linked shows House/Garden. He is also an experienced musical director (Sedos credits include Rent, Parade and Grand Hotel) and producer. Musical Director: Inga is currently working as Musical Director and Arranger on the UK premiere of Jule Styne s Darling of the Day at the Union Theatre. Other MD credits include Into The Woods for Trinity College of Music and Smokey Joe s Café at the Landor Theatre. Inga played keyboards on Sedos A Kiss Of The Spider Woman: the Musical. Producer: This is the third show Pippa has produced for Sedos, the last being A Little Night Music in 2011. She has worked with Matt on all three of his previous directing projects, including stage managing Garden. Key dates Workshop: Wednesday 13 th March, 7pm First round auditions: Easter Monday, 1 st April sessions throughout the day. Recalls: Saturday 6 th and Sunday 7 th April (primarily mornings). Times will be confirmed.. Rehearsals will take place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday daytimes (with the occasional Friday evening and Sunday daytime). Rehearsals are scheduled to commence on Saturday 11 th May and will be held in central London, venue to be confirmed. Performances Tuesday 23 rd Saturday 27 th July. The performances take place at the Bridewell Theatre (Bride Lane, Fleet St, London EC4Y 8EQ), where Sedos is the resident theatre company, at 7.30pm every night, plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Please ensure that you keep the entire weekend of 20 th /21 st July free as this will include final rehearsals, band-call, get-in etc etc. As we are opening on the Tuesday, this will be a hectic get-in schedule!
Workshop and Audition format Workshop The workshop will be an opportunity to learn more about the musical, the roles and the audition process. There will be opportunities to read extracts of the script and sing through some of the numbers! No preparation is required and attendance is strictly optional. If you are planning on attending the workshop, please e-mail amoniauditions@gmail.com just so that we have an idea of numbers. Audition format Each auditionee will be auditioned individually. When you apply, you will be allocated one of four time slots: 10.30am, 1pm, 3.30pm and 6pm. Please include any timing preference when asking for a slot. Within these slots, auditionees will be seen on a first-come first-served basis. At your audition you will be asked to: 1. Sing a song of your choice (please bring sheet music). As the songs are less well known, we would far rather hear you at your best singing a song that you know. Please try and pick something suitable either for the role that you are auditioning for or that demonstrates a knowledge of the style. For example songs from other Flaherty and Ahrens shows or Jason Robert Brown might be a good starting point but the most important thing is to show us what you can do! 2. Read a short section of dialogue for your chosen character. Audition extracts will be made available via the password-protected website when you register to audition. Please note that while you are welcome to register an interest in several roles, we may only have time to hear you read for one at the initial audition. We may also only have time to hear part of the song, so don t be put off if you are stopped partway through this is not a reflection on your performance. Recalls More details of the recalls will be given if you are recalled. We are not intending to do workshop recalls. Recalls will primarily take place in the mornings. For Alfie, Robbie, Adele, Carney, Lily and Baldy, we will ask you to prepare a song extract from the show. This will be provided after the initial auditions. Auditions and recalls will be held in central London, with the venue(s) to be confirmed. Booking an audition To book an audition, please email Pippa on amoniauditions@gmail.com, stating any time preference for your audition and what part(s) you are interested in. If any, please say any! If you cannot make the audition date, please get in touch and we will do our best to accommodate you. We realise this is particularly likely for those involved in Sedos s production of Godspell other arrangements will be made as necessary.
Notification We will aim to inform you as quickly as possible after the auditions whether you have been recalled/cast. While we will try to take your preferred method of communication into account, we may have to notify you by another method due to time constraints etc. In the event that you are unsuccessful, we will be very willing to provide feedback when time permits. Summer Festival audition restrictions A Man of No Importance is the third show in Sedos s three-week Summer Festival. Because of clashing rehearsal times it is only possible to appear in one Festival show, so while you are welcome to register to audition for A Man of No Importance if you are also auditioning for Enron, if you are cast in Enron you cannot then audition for A Man of No Importance. Similarly, if you are cast in A Man of No Importance, you cannot audition for Autobahn. Full details of the other shows and their auditions on the Sedos website, sedos.co.uk. Backstage help If you are not interested in auditioning, but are interested in helping out backstage, in any capacity (from stage crew to building scenery to sewing costumes to providing front of house assistance) then please let Pippa know by e-mailing amoniauditions@gmail.com. We would be delighted to hear from you! Sedos: audition, participation and membership fees Sedos is one of London s pre-eminent amateur theatre societies, with the aim of producing quality amateur shows to the best artistic quality possible. Please note that performers are not paid not even expenses. To perform in A Man of No Importance you must be a member of Sedos (membership is currently 30 per year) and pay a participation fee of 40. There is a 5 audition fee for non-sedos members. If you are cast in the show, your audition fee will be deducted from your participation fee. For more information about Sedos, please visit our website, sedos.co.uk. A note about accents We intend to stage the show with Irish accents and if you can do one, we would love to hear it at auditions. However, please do not jeopardise your performance by concentrating on the accent to the detriment of your acting and singing. We will be holding accent coaching sessions during the rehearsal period. Cast breakdown Please note that ages are for indication only of playing age". It is important to get a balanced cast and ensure that we create a community look and feel and also that the relative ages of certain of the characters look right. Total cast: 16 10 male and 6 female. Alfie Byrne: 40s. A bus conductor and director of the St Imelda s Players. A Man of No Importance. (baritone) Robbie Fay: 20s. The handsome and charming driver of Alfie s bus and the object of his affections. (tenor)
Adele Rice: late teens/early 20s. A beauty newly arrived in Dublin, seized on by Alfie to play Salome. (soprano) Lily Byrne: 40s/early 50s. Alfie s older sister, who lives with him. She has her own romantic aspirations to marry Carney, but needs to see Alfie settled and married first. (mezzo) Carney: 40s/50s. The butcher, Alfie s neighbour. He walks out with Lily and generally takes a central role in the St Imelda s Players productions. He played Algernon in last year s production of The Importance of Being Earnest. (baritone) Baldy: 50s+. A retired publican and widower, the stage manager of the St Imelda s players and Alfie s closest friend. (baritone) Mrs Grace: 30s/40s/50s. Returning to St Imelda s Players after a brief absence brought on by her husband s illness, also in charge of publicity. She is best remembered for her Katisha in The Mikado. Cast as the non-dancing Herodias in Salome. Miss Crowe: 30s/40s+. Another leading light of the St Imelda s Players and also the costume designer. She played Miss Prism in last year s The Importance of Being Earnest, but her favourite role remains Peter Pan! Mrs Curtin: 30s/40s+. A former child star of the Dublin Music Hall who has kept her skills wellhoned and is now returning to the stage after some years. Mother of nine. Also the group s choreographer. Ernie Lally: 20s/30s+. Another actor of the St Imelda s Players and also the propmaster. Rasher Flynn: 50s+. A founding member of St Imelda s (he played Colonel Pickering in the inaugural production of Pygmalion) and also the set designer and builder. A former all-ireland gymnast, now an ageing smoker. Sully O Hara: 20s. Unemployed, making his theatrical debut with the St Imelda s Players. Mrs Patrick: 30s/40s. A leading light in the Sodality (church community group), but not all she appears in her personal life. Breton Beret: 20s/30s. A bad sort, who propositions Alfie and then turns on him. Father Kenny: 40s+. Priest of the parish. Doubles as Carson, the bus inspector. Peter: late teens/20s. Caretaker of the church hall, who has aspirations to start his own rock band. Kitty Farrelly: 40s. An attractive publican is likely to be doubled with Miss Crowe, Mrs Curtin or Mrs Grace. This will be decided once casting is complete. Other roles Robbie s mates, people in the pub, passengers on Alfie s bus, policeman, customers etc will be doubled by the actors playing the named characters above.
If you have any questions regarding the show, the rehearsal process or the audition process, please contact Matt or Pippa as you feel appropriate: Matt: matt@mjgould.co.uk Pippa: amoniauditions@gmail.com To book an audition slot, please DO NOT e-mail Matt! But make sure you e-mail amoniauditions@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you at the auditions! Matt, Inga & Pippa